Standard Chartered unveils largest share buyback as profits lift
30 July 2024, 10:34
The bank reported a 5% rise in pre-tax profits to 3.5 billion US dollars (£2.7 billion) for the first six months of 2024.
Standard Chartered has boosted investor returns further as it announced its largest share buyback after notching up higher half-year profits.
The London-listed bank, which is heavily focused on Asian markets, unveiled another 1.5 billion US dollars (£1.2 billion) in share buybacks, bringing its total since reporting 2023 full-year results to 2.7 billion US dollars (£2.1 billion).
Standard Chartered reported a 6% constant currency rise in pre-tax profits to 3.5 billion US dollars (£2.7 billion) for the first six months of 2024 as its performance in the second quarter beat expectations.
The group posted pre-tax profits of 1.6 billion US dollars (£1.2 billion) for the second quarter, up 5% with currency movements stripped out, helped higher by growth in its wealth management arm.
It also upgraded its forecast for full-year operating income growth, now expecting a rise of over 7%, up from its previous guidance of 5% to 7%.
Shares in the FTSE 100 bank rose 6% in morning trading on Tuesday.
Bill Winters, group chief executive of Standard Chartered, hailed a “strong set of results for the first half of the year”.
“Reflecting confidence in our performance and robust capital position, we are upgrading our guidance for income growth, which we now expect to be above 7% in 2024, and we are announcing our largest ever share buyback of 1.5 billion US dollars (£1.2 billion).”
Standard Chartered saw its total credit impairment charges halve to 73 million US dollars (£57 million) in the second quarter, with the cash set aside largely related to its wealth and retail banking businesses.
The group said its exposure to the hard-hit commercial property sector in mainland China was down by 400 million US dollars (£311 million) to 2.2 billion US dollars (£1.7 billion).
But its net interest income tumbled 18% on a constant currency basis to 1.6 billion US dollars (£1.2 billion) in the second quarter, as the previous boost from rising interest rates globally has started to come to an end.
